Upcoming Seminar
Title
What Do Animals REALLY Do in the Wild?
We Spy on Them with Secret Cameras to Find Out
Rattlesnakes are notoriously secretive animals. Their bad reputations among the public are, in part, the result of media outlets showing distressed, defensive animals. Even when scientists visit their dens to study them, they may not behave naturally due to fear of the upright, bipedal predators.
We established a research program using time lapse cameras and later the first ever live-streaming cameras on rattlesnake dens to study their reproduction, social behaviors, thermoregulation, and rain harvesting. Observing rattlesnakes behaving naturally in the absence of observers who might change their behavior reveals fascinating scientific insights. In addition, engaging with viewers in the YouTube livestream chat can improve the public image of rattlesnakes.
Speaker
Emily Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of Biological Sciences
Interim Associate Dean, Bailey College of Science and Math
California Polytechnic State University
Director, Physiological Ecology and Reptile Laboratory
Bio
Emily Taylor is a Professor of Biological Sciences at the California Polytechnic State University, where she teaches and conducts research with her students on reptile physiology and human-snake conflict. She got her B.A. in English at UC Berkeley, her Ph.D. in Biology at Arizona State University, and has been at Cal Poly for 20 years. She is a long-time introductory biology textbook author of Freeman’s Biological Sciences. Her first popular science book California Snakes and How To Find Them was published this year.
Date
Monday, November 18, 2024 • 12:00 PM
Location
Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center
Alan & Debbie Gold Auditorium for the Life Sciences
Host
Dr. Kinsey Brock
Department of Biology • Assistant Professor